Conflict

CAR’s peace accords and rebel warlords

The latest peace agreement in the Central African Republic creates space for rebel warlords to participate in the country’s future. But with accusations that the agreement has downplayed justice, argues Gino Vlavonou, a mix of doubt and excitement allows the potential for renewed anger and grievances towards the state.

Contesting compensation in Uganda’s Apaa land conflict

When Acholi farmers from Uganda’s Apaa region occupied a UN compound, they drew attention to a long-term conflict in which the community faced violent evictions from their ancestral homeland. While President Museveni’s new compensation schemes may seem like a viable fix they could, ultimately, exacerbate the region’s conflicts over land.

In recent years, rural communities throughout Africa have increasingly found […]

Book review – Against Humanity: Lessons from the Lord’s Resistance Army

With the proliferation of literature on the Lord’s Resistance Army, it is difficult for researchers to reveal more than is already known. To be original the author need not resort to cultural relativism, and ‘moral outrage’ can exist alongside the humanity of combatants.

In the early 2000s, the central north of Uganda was the site of one of Africa’s most […]

Fragility and uneven aid in the African Great Lakes

The DRC’s new president brings opportunities to rethink development in the Great Lakes region. With current aid policies charged with fuelling political instability, Léopold Ghins argues the status quo is unable to bring prosperity and effective peacekeeping.

Despite decades of foreign interventions, both through peacekeeping and aid, the African Great Lakes remain one of the world’s most fragile regions. So […]

Money guards and hospital hostages in the DRC

Conducting research in new socio-economic spaces can bring unexpected challenges. For two researchers in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo their identities as white foreigners impacted their relation to power and authority, with ignorance of local customs interacting with privileged access to money and networks.

This article is part of the #PublicAuthority blog series with the Centre for Public Authority […]

A never-ending story? Cyclical mobilisation and demobilisation in the eastern DRC

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, demobilisation programmes aim to reintegrate combatants into everyday life. But there are often blurred boundaries between what is considered military and civilian and, with a less nuanced understanding, potential future security threats could go unchecked.

This article is part of the #PublicAuthority blog series with the Centre for Public Authority and International Development at LSE.

Male survivors are not ’emasculated’ but experience ‘displacement from gendered personhood’

Taking Northern Uganda as a case study, Philipp Schulz explores the intersecting harms experienced by male survivors of sexual violence, and argues that these harms can potentially be mitigated. He suggests that improved understanding – and language – can aid recovery.

The United Nations Security Council (UN SC) and the Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda initially paid insufficient attention to sexual violence against men […]

Preventing and punishing sexual violence in war post-Bemba

Following the acquittal of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo by the International Criminal Court, Louise Arimatsu reflects on what steps might be taken to more effectively address sexual violence in conflict.

Preventing sexual violence in conflict has been a high priority for the international community for at least the last two decades exemplified by the myriad of policy, legal and institutional measures adopted by states […]

Reading List: Most popular book reviews of 2018

We couldn’t say goodbye to 2018 before sharing our top book reviews of the year, as voted by your clicks! Here they are:

Afrotopia by Felwine Sarr – Anna Wood calls “Afrotopia” an inspiring manifesto and metaphor for a new Africa.
The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia 1300-1700 by Mohammed Hassen – Aleksander Engeskaug says this book is an important […]

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